Patients currently suffering from neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's have limited treatment options. Conventional drug therapy helps delay or reduce the symptoms of disease but is unable to restore complete functionality of the brain or repair damaged tissue. Through stem cell-based therapies, scientists aim to transplant cells in order to regenerate damaged tissue and restore proper function. In addition to addressing neurodegenerative diseases, stem cell based therapies show much promise in addressing a vast number of other diseases, injuries and conditions. The discovery of safe and inexpensive compositions to modulate stem cell proliferation would be a beneficial advancement in the filed of stem cell-based therapies and basic research.